On Friday, the team was able to do some sightseeing in British Columbia. (Photo from team Twitter feed.)
Sophomore point guard Asiah Dingle had nine steals, seven assists and 17 points as the Kent State women’s team beat club team VK Select in the first game of its exhibition tour of British Columbia.
The Flashes build an 82-44 lead through three quarters, then emptied the bench in a sloppy fourth quarter. Final score in Vancouver was 90-68.
Four other KSU players scored in double figures. Freshman guard Katie Shumate had 13 points and sophomore forward Lindsay Thall 12. Sophomore guard Hannah Young and transfer center Linsey Marchese each score 10 points.
Marchese also had 11 rebounds for a double-double in her first time in a Kent State uniform. Marchese played her first two years at Indiana and won’t be eligible for regular season play until 2020-21 because of NCAA transfer rules. She is allowed to play in the summer international exhibitions.
Shumate and fellow freshman Nila Blackford also had eight rebounds each.
“We did a nice job on offensive third quarter,” coach Todd Starkey said in an interview relayed through Jay Fiorello, the associate sports communications director for women’s basketball. “We put up 33 points, created turnovers and were able to get some easy baskets.
“It was good to get our legs under us after being on a plane all day yesterday. We showed lots to work with and a lot to improve.”
Dingle, Starkey said, was “the dominant player on the floor — almost a triple double in limited minutes.”
“She’s just very disruptive player defensively, was able to get some points in transition and scored the ball most efficiently for us,” the coach said.
Starkey said it was nice to see Marchese on the court.
“She was provide some things for us that we didn’t have last year like ability to score around the basket,” Starkey said. “She did nice job offensive rebounding and finishing around the basket was able to finish. I know she was excited about getting out and playing these three games.”
The Flashes play the University of British Columbia Sunday afternoon and Vancouver Island University Monday.